Record-setting Bulldogs glide past Jefferson

October 26, 2018

SHEPHERDSTOWN -- Seven touchdowns in the first half. A shutout for the defense.

Readying for another big-school playoff run. Winning for the 37th straight time.

Top-rated Martinsburg polished off Jefferson, 70-0, last Friday to remain firmly in place as the state's No. 1 team. And the cruise-control victory was the Bulldogs' latest visit to the vault of records, as they now stand one game taller than both Anstead and Wayne, schools that once produced 36-game winning streaks.

A 14-0 record brought Martinsburg a state championship in 2016. A similar 14-0 record produced another state title in 2017. And the house cleaning of Jefferson was the ninth consecutive win this season, with a regular-season finale against unbeaten Musselman the lone remaining game before the 2018 playoffs begin.

On just the third play of the game, Grant Harman found Jarod Bowie on a 40-yard score.

By the time Trey Sine had scored with his intercepted pass, had blocked a field goal attempt and forced a fumble, Martinsburg had assumed a 28-0 lead, and the first quarter was still on.

Three more touchdowns in the second period had made it 49-0 at halftime, and had Jefferson's large marching band bringing some smiles and applause to the home side of the stadium as they performed at the break.

Jefferson resumes its run of home games to close the year when South Hagerstown visits tonight, in its attempt to reach the Maryland state playoffs. The Rebels own a two-game winning streak.

Should the Bulldogs finish the regular season as the No. 1 or No. 2 team, they will have home games in the playoffs for the first three weeks and then would go to Wheeling Island Stadium for a third-straight state championship game in early December.